The future of aging in place requires more than housing—it requires integrity, a sense of community, and a social exchange that come from the design of our neighborhoods. Sarah Susanka, HIVE dean and author of the Not So Big House series, presented at the HIVE conference in September to set the stage for the need for better housing for aging independence.

“We have on our hands a real issue,” Susanka said. “I hope that you will start to think, 'How can I start to take advantage of this moment, which is an unprecedented moment in terms of possibility, and start to work toward a more sustainable future?' It’s about intergenerational value creation. That’s what we are about here.”

In her video, Susanka says that some of our existing models will stay in place, like skilled nursing facilities and assisted living, but they will improve to a person-centered care and an environment that feels more like home. But in addition, there will be a vast array of alternatives that allow seniors to age at home, with the assistance of modern technologies, mixed with some good old fashioned neighborliness. A community mindset is at the heart of all these strategies, involving innovation both from a technology and a design perspective.

Susanka points out that architect Bucky Fuller said, "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete." He also said "Integrity is the essence of everything successful," which was how Susanka’s HIVE panel discussed the issue in the video below.

The panel, seated from left to right in this video, included Matthias Hollwich, author and principal at Hollwich Kushner; Rodney Harrell, director, livability thought leadership at AARP Public Policy Institute; Susanka; Ross Chapin, architect and author of The Pocket Neighborhood; and Ryan Frederick, CEO, Smart Living 360.

Frederick laid out the critical need for the discussion through a business case. “In the next five years, the number of traditional renters, 25- to 34-year-olds, goes down, at the same time that the 65-plus goes up by about 15%,” he said. “From 2010 to 2030, the same 25- to 34-year-old cohort grows by about 10% while the 65-plus grows by more than 80%. This is clearly a growing market that doesn’t necessarily like their options. And, they can pay more than a traditional renter.”

The panel, with expertise ranging from policy to design, agreed that the root of the solution is maintaining integrity for those aging in place, allowing them to rely on each other as a community and to provide for each other. As housing providers perform these acts, the aging population will have housing options that excite them in terms of home and community design, and they will have somewhere that responds to their needs over time.